LIRR to Operate Extra Montauk Branch Service to Accommodate Customers Disrupted by the Storm
With Tropical Storm Henri having departed the metropolitan area, MTA Long Island Rail Road and MTA Metro-North Railroad today announced that they anticipate restoring full regular weekday service on Monday morning, August 23, across all parts of the railroads.
To assist customers who may have had their travel plans affected by the storm, the LIRR is adding additional service on the Montauk Branch. The train that normally originates at Southampton at 4:41 a.m. will instead originate at Montauk at 4:00 a.m., with stops at East Hampton at 4:22 a.m. and Bridgehampton at 4:31 a.m. before resuming its normal schedule. The LIRR will also operate a train that will depart Montauk at 8:07 a.m. and make all local stops to Speonk where it will run as a semi-express, stopping at Patchogue, Sayville, Bay Shore, and Babylon before running express to Jamaica for connecting trains to Penn Station and Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn.
On the LIRR’s Montauk Branch, the first trains to operate east of Patchogue through to Montauk will depart Montauk at 1:00 a.m. and Jamaica at 1:10 a.m. The LIRR’s 5:39 a.m. departure from Montauk will operate on its normal schedule, as will the 7:28 a.m. train that runs on Mondays from early June through mid-October.
In all other parts of LIRR and Metro-North systems that had been suspended on Sunday will resume with the first regularly scheduled trains after 4 a.m. on Monday. Details are below and complete schedule information is available on the MTA.info and the MYmta app, the LIRR Train Time app and Metro-North Train Time app.
“We took careful precautions over the weekend to ensure that our system was as protected from the storm as it could be, including moving trains out of low-lying yards that could have seen flooding,” said Catherine Rinaldi, President of Metro-North Railroad. “I’d like to thank our workforce for coming out in full force to prepare our system for the storm, combat the elements throughout the weekend, and restoring full service as early as possible.”
“Tropical Storm Henri tested our resilience and perseverance today -- but it was no match for our talented and hardworking employees and management. Because of the strategic planning, preparation, and actions taken today while braving the elements, we were able to mitigate the effects of the strong winds, heavy rain, and uncertain tidal surges,” said Phil Eng, President of the Long Island Rail Road. “I’d also like to thank our customers who heeded our advice this weekend and either traveled early or are waiting for the storm to pass. We are pleased to let customers know that we expect to run a full weekday schedule on Monday, including some additional trains from the East End to ensure everyone can get home safely."
On LIRR’s Ronkonkoma Branch, the first trains to operate between Ronkonkoma and Greenport will resume with the 5:25 a.m. departure from Greenport and the 7:30 a.m. departure from Ronkonkoma.
On Metro-North, New Haven Line service will resume with the 4:00 a.m. Grand Central-bound train from New Haven Union Station, the 4:58 a.m. Grand Central-bound local from Stamford, and the 5:30 a.m. departure from Grand Central Terminal making all local stops to New Haven.
New Canaan Branch service will resume with the 5:23 a.m. departure from New Canaan and the 6:53 a.m. departure from Stamford. Danbury Branch service will resume with the 5:08 a.m. departure from Danbury and the 9:19 a.m. Danbury-bound departure from South Norwalk. On the Waterbury Branch, where buses are currently substituting for trains because of track work, service will resume with the 5:38 a.m. bus from Waterbury, and the 7:38 a.m. Waterbury-bound bus from Bridgeport.
Harlem Line service between Wassaic and Southeast will resume with the 5:10 a.m. train from Wassaic and the 9:05 a.m. northbound train from Southeast.